Man who planned to commit FGM has sentence increased

A man who was jailed for conspiring to commit female genital mutilation (FGM) in a "landmark case" has had his sentence increased.

Emad Kaky, 48, was jailed for four and a half years in October, after he arranged for a young girl to travel to Iraq, where she would have been subjected to FGM and forced into marriage.

His sentence after the FGM conviction, which was the first of its kind in England and Wales, was contested under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General's Office confirmed on Tuesday that Kaky's sentence was increased to seven years on 24 January.

Kaky, who completed a PhD at the University of Nottingham in 2017, had booked and paid for the victim's trip to Iraq while he was living in the city, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said his plans were uncovered by a witness who arranged for the girl to travel back to the UK and reported Kaky to the police.

Kaky committed the offences while living in Nottingham, but lived in Swansea in Wales at the time of the conviction.

The CPS said this was the third FGM conviction in England and Wales, but the first time a person had been convicted of conspiracy to commit FGM.

FGM has been a criminal offence in England and Wales since 1985.

The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC said: "FGM is a sickening crime and this government is determined to stamp out the practice as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls.

"This offender intended to inflict grotesque physical and mental suffering upon a child.

"The court has rightly decided to increase his sentence to reflect the severity of his crime."

Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: "During the trial we presented evidence that the defendant considered his behaviour to be normal.

"Emad Kaky has faced the consequences of his actions in trying to get a child subjected to female genital mutilation and be forced into a marriage not of her choosing."

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